Nevada authorities say they are likely to file murder charges against a Pennsylvania man they believe killed his girlfriend and left her nude body on a remote road in the desert, KDKA reported.
John Chapman, 39, is in jail in Pennsylvania charged with kidnapping, criminal use of a communication faciltiies, and obstructing administration of the law in the disappearance of Jaime Rae Feden, 33, who was last seen alive on September 15.
Law enforcement believe Chapman drove Feden to Nevada under false pretenses, then took her out to the desert, ostensively for a photo shoot, and suffocated her, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Chapman was arrested in November, prompting Nevada investigators to look closer at a body they found in October.
The Lincoln County, Nevada, Sheriff’s Department last month identified the body found as Feden. Lincoln County Deputy Sheriff Mike Ray and Sgt Derek Foremaster spent the weekend in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, wrapping up their investigation of Feden’s death, according to KDKA.
“Yes,” Ray said when asked about murder charges. “That is going to happen in our jurisdiction.”
Pennsylvania court documents say that Chapman told investigators he and Feden drove to Las Vegas sometime in September for a vacation with the “potential of acquiring residence,” according to KDKA. Later in the month, the court papers say, Chapman drove her into desert, telling her it was for a bondage photo shoot, News 3 Las Vegas reported. There, he allegedly told police he used zip ties to bind her hands and feet, tied her to a signpost, and duct taped her mouth and nose so she couldn’t breathe. After she died, he removed the zip ties, duct tape, and her clothing and left her body by the signpost.
A motorist found the body on October 5, Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee said. The Clark County Coroner’s Office, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, the FBI, and the Bethel Park Police Department assisted in making the identification using dental records, he said, CrimeOnline reported last month.
Ray and Foremaster spoke with Bethel Park police and Feden’s family while they were in Pennsylvania, visited Feden’s home, and inspected the vehicle Chapman allegedly drove to Nevada. Feden’s family, and apparently Feden as well, was unaware that Chapman was married.
“It was just more of an opportunity for us to be part of the investigation and to actually be there,” Ray told KDKA. “When we first got here we had A and Z. Now we can see the entire alphabet and that’s what this trip has done for us.”
Ray told the station he and Foremaster would prepare a report for Lincoln County prosecutors when they get back to Nevada over the next week. Chapman would have to be extradited to stand trail if and when charges are filed in Lincoln County.
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[Featured image: Jaime Feden/ Bethel Park Police Department]
